1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for estimating a center line of an intersection, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for estimating a center line of an intersection by recognizing a crosswalk, which is indicated by road markings.
2. Description of the Related Art
A method of recognizing an intersection can be divided into two types; a hardware based recognizing method by using a sensor and a computer vision based software method.
Firstly, the sensor based method transmits information to vehicles passing through an intersection by having a sensor capable of communicating at the intersection. In such a method, accurate information can be provided, however, installation fees are high.
Secondly, the computer vision based method recognizes important road facilities from a road image by using cameras that are generally installed in vehicles with respect to a current technology related to vehicles' safe operation. In such a method, costs are relatively low; however, the cameras are sensitive to the surroundings.
In order to recognize an intersection, an existing method to recognize a stop line to inform a driver about an approaching intersection so as to induce the driver to drive safely is introduced. However, since the stop line is a single line, if another vehicle stops on the side of the road or around the stop line, a probability of recognition failure is high.
In addition, an conventional method of recognizing a crosswalk is used in order to identify the location of the crosswalk for guiding the blind, instead of using a camera installed in a vehicle.